Published PCT Patent Application WO 02/079955 of NDS Ltd., and corresponding U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/472,286 of Shen Orr et al., the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference, describe a system and method for providing variable security mechanisms for securing digital content, in which a single security mechanism is not used for all content. Rather, at least one characteristic or feature of the security mechanism is varied between units, instances or categories of content. Hence, even if unauthorized access is gained to a single unit of content, the overall integrity and security of the system for content distribution is not compromised. Security is preferably provided through a general mechanism, which is then varied in order to provide variable, dissimilar security schemes for different types of content.
The following standards are also believed to be of relevance to the present invention:
ETSI TS 102 822-3 Broadcast and On-line Services: Search, select, and Rightful Use of Content on Personal Storage Systems (“TV-Anytime Phase 1”); Part 3: Metadata.
ISO/IEC 13818-6 Information Technology Generic Coding of Moving Pictures and Associated Audio Information Part 6: Extensions for Digital Storage Media Command and Control.
The disclosures of WO 02/079955; US 2004/0111613 A1 (publication of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/472,286): ETSI TS 102 822-3: and ISO/IEC 13818-6, are hereby incorporated herein by reference.